Kuwait’s Ministry of Interior said on Wednesday that it would implement an Amiri decree granting amnesty to 1,207 people imprisoned for various offences. The pardon includes the immediate release of 261 inmates, while 757 others will have their sentences reduced, read a statement by the ministry.

Kuwait’s Minister of Justice Dr. Falah Al-Azab announced on Tuesday His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah would grant amnesty to many offenders in 2017, while others will have their sentences commuted.

According to the decree, “His Highness the Amir holds the power to pardon or reduce sentences as he sees fit.”